9:00 pm is snack time in my house. Not only do hubby and I help ourselves to some delectable goodies; Sampson and Delilah need their treats too. In fact, Delilah insists on it.
For the longest time, the dogs got something called Pork Twists. They kind of remind me of fruit roll-ups, except without the fruit, and made of pork and stuffed with liver. Yeah, fruit roll-ups.
We ran out of Pork Twists so I picked up some Duck Sticks. They remind me of Slim Jims, except they are really long and made of duck. The dogs gobbled these up in a matter of seconds without having to go to their separate corners. Then they looked at me as if to say, “That’s it? That’s all we get?” “Isn’t it snack time?”
A couple of weeks ago I went to the pet store and asked about treats that might last longer than a few seconds. The very nice and helpful woman showed me some Bully Sticks and then proceeded to tell me they were made out of bull urine. Yes, you read that right. Bull urine.
Thanks, but I’ll pass on those.
Then she said, she fills her dog’s Kong and sticks it in the freezer. A lot more work than I wanted for treats, so I settled on something else and went on my merry way.
Coincidentally, a few days after she mentioned this, Tena at Success Just Clicks had an excellent post about what you can fill a Kong with.
Last Friday, I had nothing for the dog’s snacks so while I was preparing supper I decided to try filling their Kongs.
- Sampson’s is red and Delilah’s is purple.
I filled them with a bit of ground beef, some cheese and I frosted the end with peanut butter. I put the Kong in the freezer for about 3 1/2 hours and then handed them off to the dogs.
I hit that one out of the park. They worked on those things for 1/2 an hour!
Since Friday night, I’ve been filling their Kongs every night. My favorite thing to stuff them with is a couple of pieces of rolled up salami, a piece of chunked up American Cheese and then frost the end with yogurt, pumpkin, peanut butter or cream cheese. They lick the goodie off the end and get rewarded with little bits of cheese; they have to work for the salami but it’s not too messy.
- This is a Kong that has the cream cheese filling the bottom.
Can’t understand why you passed on the bull urine. 😉
But ssh don’t tell the 2 brown dawgs what you stuff your Kongs with. They will be demanding to come live at your house. We used to stuff their Kongs when they were young, but haven’t for a few years now. They play with them without stuffing. We give them the black bone shaped Kongs and they will chew them without anything stuffed in them. They are deprived…
LOL we just started filling the Kongs, until then they were used the same way yours are now. I’m sure the two brown dogs are quite content. I’ve seen them in pictures!
My dogs love bully sticks, but their digestive systems do not – and I don’t either so we dropped those awhile ago. Thanks for the Kong stuffing ideas!
Any time, I hope it helps.
we feed bully sticks 🙂
It’s not as bad as it sounds, esp the ones from bestbullysticks.com – they don’t smell bad!
when we pass out some kongs, I stuff um with cottage cheese or Merrick canned foods
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting them down. Just the thought turned me off! LOL
You know I looked at the cottage cheese tonight and I wondered if they could have it, but I wasn’t sure so I passed. It’s good to know. Thanks for the tip!!
Sure! I usually mix the cottage cheese with baby food (like squash or green beans)
We feed bully sticks all the time… they are a HUGE hit in the house. The fact that they are bull “pizzle” doesn’t bother me at all… dog treats are OFTEN weird stuff… i’ve also fed dried cownose (moozles or schnozzles they are sometimes called). a 12″ bully stick gives me about 20-30 minutes or, if frozen, 35-45 minutes of quiet.
I also have picked up 6 medium kongs, 3 small kongs, and 4 West Paw “TUX” toys (i’ve found them to be just as durable as the red kongs)… so one day a weekend i fill them all with STUFF.. freeze them all and dole them out as needed…. when they are all empty they get put into HOT HOT HOT soapy water so they are a little bit easier to clean out… makes life easier to stuff lots at once 🙂
If your pups like it, why not? It just kind of grossed me out but I’m sure eventually at some point I’ll hand them out again. But it would never last 20 minutes with Delilah. It amazes me the things she tries to swallow.
I like the idea of the extra kongs too, I may pick up a couple more stuffable items!
I like to fill the Kong with Honest Kitchen food & kibble, or peanut butter & treats. Freezing is always the best – takes ’em twice as long to lick it clean. It’s my life saver with the puppy!
Great ideas! I will check them out.
The question should be, what DON’T we put in the Kong. If it’s safe for our dog to eat, you better believe I have stuffed it in there. Vegetables, meat, cheese, fish, apples, bananas, yogurt, chicken broth, peanut butter, ice cubes, cheese whiz, rawhide sticks for puppies, liver, canned dog food, pumpkin. If it’s mushy, if it’s stinky, if it freezes well, it goes in.
We have used frozen stuffed Kongs since day one and I attribute that little rubber toy with helping my dog deal with her separation anxiety. If Kongs didn’t exist, we may not be here right now. I don’t even care that we are on Shiva’s 7th. I will keep buying more as long as they keep working.
Wow Kristine! You guys are all so creative with what you are putting in there, I feel so bland. 🙂 But you must tell…..how do you put chicken broth in there? Our Kongs have a little hole at the top and the broth would leak out.
We put a small milk bone covered with peanut butter inside the kong. It takes her a while but she eventually gets it all! I’d like to think she likes the challenge but it’s really for me.
It is nice to give them something you know won’t hurt them and still give yourself a few minutes! I’m sure Queenie loves it.
Thanks for all the great tips on kong stuffing! These ideas sound healthy for my dog and will save on the stuffing I like to keep in my wallet!
I was spending a bunch of money on the roll-ups and now I am using stuff I have in the house! I hope it helps your wallet Maryann and I’m sure Lila will enjoy it!
I bought some of the “spray” peanut butter that Kong makes specifically for their toys. The boys loved it, but when it ran out, I was pretty stretched for money. I tried regular peanut butter, but it didn’t quite work as well. You’ve motivated me to pull those Kongs back out and put some nummy treats in there. Swift and Kool will thank you!
When we first got Sampson I stuck to the Kong products, but have since learned there is so much more to it! They really look forward to their nightly treat and I look forward to the quiet time.
As the comments are noting there is no end to the Kong combinations, let me know what you come up with and what the boys think of it!
Sophie is going to run away from home and go live with you. Your kongs are much better than the ones she gets! LOL. Usually i put pumpkin or yogurt in there and freeze. Peanut butter and bananas on occasion.
No way Patty, she loves you and all the fun things you do with her. I think I am going to try some other things in mine too, but I’m sure she loves whatever you give her.
Wow! Great tip!
Puppies love it!!
I stuff the Kongs with a few liver treats, minced beef, sometimes another few treats, more minced beef, and seal the end with some lactose free yoghurt which you can then stick more little treats in. Then it goes into the freezer. Sometimes I’ll put a chicken or beef jerky strip down through the middle as well. On other occasions I’ll then put the entire Kong in a cylindrical tupperware container and fill it with water so that the Kong is totally encased in ice. That way Flo has one for a little bit later in the morning. I agree that it’s more a case of what not to put in a Kong… if she’ll work for it, she can have it in a Kong!
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Excellent! I think encasing it in ice is brilliant!